WalkThisWay

My understanding, is that there is a testing tool (sort of a magnetic pen), that you can place against a car body to tell if it has been repainted. It is suppose to measure how thick the paint is; therefore telling you if the car has been repainted, etc.

Unfortunately,,,the Acura dealers I have called here in Houston, do not have that tool; but I have seen one work from a distance.

1. How do you use the tool?

2. Is my assumption correct, that if the paint is over 6mil thick, then that portion of the car has been repainted? ( I was told this by someone that is suppose to know?)

3. Is the correct mil thickness on an Acura TLS NBP suppose to be about 4 mil thick? And what are the acceptable ranges for the Acura TLS

4. When you pull the tool away from the car body, do the numbers (mil numbers) read "up" or "down"? For example, if you continue to pull the tool up from the car body,,,and it goes past the number '6' for one or two more numbers, does that mean it is "Less Than" 6 mils thick or "More Than" 6 mils thick?


Any accurate tech advice, will be very helpfull

Road Rage

Any decent body shop should have one of these. I believe it works by measuring inductance changes caused by the small separation between the sheet metal and the surface - Hall effect.

TL4Mo

Yes such a tool exists. I saw it used by an Acura rep. It is cool....without me saying ANYTHING, the guy new that the hood & trunk had been repainted. The person was the regional Acura rep (from California) that my wife and I met with for him to review the quality of our paint. According to him, Acura actually uses a thicker coat than other car makers (e.g., Lexus). If you want to meet with this guy, you need to call Acura customer Care and they set up the appt. the next time he is in Houston. Otherwise, check with a body shop. Personally, with the 4 body shops I've been to....the Acura rep was the first person I saw use one.